I was impressed by the turnout. The room was full of observers (probably at least 40 people). The observers are people who care enough about cycling in Toronto to devote several hours of a weeknight to the topic.

Reports and Presentations from the meeting are supposed to be posted online, and I’ll let you know when they are… but I figured I’d share the few notes I took.

I’ll use the agenda from the meeting to organize the notes I took (which are italicized).

1. Cycling in Harbord Village

E-mail (December 22, 2009) from Eleanor Levine, regarding her concerns for safety for cyclists cycling in the Harbord Village area of the City of Toronto.

Eleanor presented her concerns about the lack of cycling infrastructure in her neighbourhood… not only for seniors like her, but all cyclists. She expressed her preference for physically-separate bikelanes over regular bikelanes or sharrows, as it makes it harder for cars to park in them.

2. Presentation from the Ward 20 Cycling Committee

Report (undated) from the Ward 20 Cycling Committee, presenting suggestions for improvements to cycling infrastructure and conditions in Ward 20. Its purpose is to provide feedback to Councillor Vaughan’s office and City staff who can work in co-operation with the broader community to implement changes that reflect the needs of cyclists travelling in this section of the city.

Great (and quick!) presentation from Yvonne Bambrick, Dale Duncan and Andrew Keenan (not sure if I heard his name right) of the Ward 20 Cycling Committee. This is a group set up by Councillor Adam Vaughan to inform his office about cycling issues in his Ward in order for him to work with the community on these issues. Lots of great infrastructure ideas such as physically separate bikelanes, bikeboxes, sharrows in intersections, and innovative bike parking.

There was then a bunch of discussion about the cost of various infrastructure improvements asked for in Ward reports such as this one… but Ward reports were noted as important as it allows cycling staff to show city councillors exactly what Torontonians want.

A motion was made for staff to look at the feasibility (and progress, if any) of items in report and to report back to the Committee.

3. Changes to the Official Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Driver’s Handbook

Report from Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee Sub-Committee, led by the Toronto Cyclists Union.

Margaret Hastings-James (at her last Committee meeting as she is moving to Hamilton and starting a family – Congrats Margaret!) and Yvonne Bambrick presented progress on a great project that is providing input to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation on a Drivers Handbook revision. In short, the project is attempting to get more references to cyclists and pedestrians in the book that new drivers study when they get their licenses. Great language is proposed like “be aware and courteous to all road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians”.

Great way to ensure drivers are more aware of cyclists on the road.

4. Presentation of the 2009 Cycling Survey

Dan Egan presented the key findings from a Cycling Survey undertaken this past summer with the same questions of a survey undertaken in 1999. The city is planning on re-doing this survey every 3-4 years instead of every 10.

The meeting was behind schedule, so I had to leave mid-way through this presentation, but basically, for 2010, the City will be concentrating on connecting and enhancing downtown bike lanes and bike routes. I don’t know if this is because it’s an election year, so getting new bike infrastructure where there are more cyclists may be more politically feasible. It’s most likely just to enhance the downtown infrastructure to continue to build on the increasing numbers of cyclists on downtown streets.

6. Presentation of the Bikeway Network State of Good Repair

Well, I missed this presentation (as I mentioned above, I had to leave before the meeting ended), so I am looking forward to any documents posted online regarding this. :)

I left City Hall and was entranced by watching skaters on Nathan Philips Square for a few minutes… and wished I had brought my skates. (photo below by alfred ng)

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Joe said: “I don’t know if this is because it’s an election year, so getting new bike infrastructure where there are more cyclists may be more politically feasible. It’s most likely just to enhance the downtown infrastructure to continue to build on the increasing numbers of cyclists on downtown streets. ”

I think it is also due, in part, to the upcoming bike sharing project. At least I hope it is. They definitely need massive improvements in cycling infrastructure before we turn a bunch of tourists loose on the streets!

Thanks for the notes Joe – they actually deferred the State of Good Repair presentation until the next meeting – so you didn’t miss anything (the presentation was available in hard-copy at the committee meeting anyway).

Also, Yvonne mentioned that the bicycle sharing system will be coming in July. I was hoping it would launch in May, but better late than never ;)

Yeah… they are supposed to be eventually. It may come after they are “approved” at the next meeting of TCAC on Feb. 8. The presentations and reports are supposed to be available electronically sometime today too. Nothing yet on the TCAC pages of the City’s website.

A few document attachments have been added to the Committee webpage – some of the above items now have electronic versions of the documents that were handed out at the meeting. Here are the links to them (all PDF) for you: